WHEN Ryan Babel applied the coup de grace to a wonderfully flowing Liverpool move at Newcastle last week he underlined exactly why team-mate Dirk Kuyt believes he can become a Premiership "sensation".

After playing a wonderful one-two with Steven Gerrard, Babel took aim and stroked the ball into the far corner of Shay Given’s net with a style and a composure which belied his tender years.

It was the kind of finish which also showed why Babel’s national team manager Marco Van Basten once suggested he could be “the next Thierry Henry”.

At a club which has already had its fingers burned by a string of “new” Zidanes, Vieiras and even Dalglishes, this was a label which was never going to stick, but, nevertheless, it is starting to become apparent exactly why such grand comparisons are made when Babel is concerned.

Kuyt is in no doubt whatsoever that Liverpool’s £11m summer acquisition from Ajax has what it takes to make a massive impact on English football and insists it is only a matter of time before we see the best of the 20-year-old.

“I think Ryan can be a sensation in the Premiership,” he said.

“He has a lot of talent and ability and I think sometimes it is easy for people to forget how young he is.

“The Premiership is one of the best leagues in the world and it is also very physical, so it is normal that Ryan will need more time to show his best.

“But in every game and in every training session he is getting better and better and stronger and stronger.

“It is another level but I am sure he will be at that level very soon.”

Though comparatively happy with the way Babel is acclimatising to life in the Premiership, Rafa Benitez is in no doubt that he still has a lot of improving to do if he is to fulfil his huge potential.

He said: “He can improve because he has the potential.

“He has played really well in some games but I think he can be more consistent.

“He has ability, pace and power, but he needs to work on his mentality.

“In Holland the game is slower than it is in this country, so when you play in England you have to be ready to be involved all the time.

“Maybe Ryan will go on to play as a striker in the future because he likes to play there and with the quality he has he is a very good option for us, but he can also play in other areas.”

Babel is in full agreement with his boss and believes it will not be too long before Liverpool see the very best of him.

“The manager is right,” he said. “I am definitely not yet at the level where I can be, but I am learning in every game and hopefully I will be able to show my true level very soon.

“The last couple of weeks have definitely given me the confidence to keep going and keep working hard every day.

“The boss knows that I prefer to play up front because I have played there all the way through my career so far.

“Hopefully one day I will end up playing up front, but for now I just have to concentrate on getting minutes on the pitch and picking up as much experience as I can.

“But I also played on the left at Ajax and I know that this helps me to improve and to get more experience.”

For players coming to the Premiership from abroad, the settling in period can always be difficult , especially when they are as young as Babel is.

Fortunately, he is being helped to get used to life at a new club and in a new city by Kuyt, who went through a similar experience when he moved to Liverpool from Feyenoord last year.

“Of course I try to help other players and it is particularly important for me to help Ryan because he is also from Holland,” added Kuyt.

“Usually it is just about the little things, but it is good for him to have someone around who has been through a similar experience to the one he is going through now.

“We are rooming together and I think it is nice for him because it means he can sometimes talk to someone in Dutch.

“It was the same for me when I came to Liverpool because I had Bolo Zenden here to help me, so I’m just trying to do the same for Ryan.

“Hopefully that will help him to settle in because I’ve got no doubt that he can go on to be a very good player for Liverpool.”